Many postal handling machines or devices are large, and require "permanent" installation in a large building or site. Among the machines which require such installations are those called a "tower," illustrated in simplified form in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, a tower assembly is designated generally as 10, and as illustrated is located in the corner of a room having a floor 12 and ceiling 14. The tower assembly 10 includes a tower structure proper, which is designated generally as 11, and which includes a vertical structure portion 16. Vertical structure portion 16 is illustrated as being solid, but it may actually be in the form of an open support structure such as an array of columns and transverse members. Tower assembly 10 includes an upper conveyor device illustrated as a roller conveyor 18 which extends from a remote location (not illustrated, but to the left of the illustration of FIG. 1) past the upper end of the tower structure 16. Tower assembly 10 further includes a lower conveyor device illustrated as a roller conveyor 20, which extends past a lower portion of the tower structure 16, and extends to the right in the illustration to a remote location (not illustrated). The conveyor devices 18 and 20 are dimensioned to move or carry trays or pans, one of which is illustrated as 22, to and from the tower 11.
In operation of the tower apparatus 10 of FIG. 1, trays such as 22 are conveyed by upper conveyor 18 from left to right, sequentially bringing trays, to a location adjacent the tower structure 16. When a tray being carried on upper conveyor 18 comes alongside an aperture 24 in the upper end of tower structure 16, it is, or may be, transferred from the conveyor 18 into the tower structure 16 by an "OP pusher" (not illustrated). The tower structure 16 moves the trays from the upper aperture 24 to a lower aperture 26, from which the trays are transferred onto roller conveyor 20 by additional pushing arrangements (not illustrated). Lower roller conveyor 20 carries the trays from lower aperture 26 to another mail-handling device (not illustrated) for further operations. In some installations, all of the trays carried by upper conveyor 18 may be moved into tower structure 16, and upper conveyor 18 may in that mode of operation be terminated at location 18T, while in other installations or modes of operation, only some of the trays being conveyed by roller conveyor 18 are transferred to the tower structure 16, and those trays remaining on roller conveyor 18 continue on, on an extension of roller conveyor 18 (not illustrated), to other such tower structures (not illustrated). Vertical movement of the trays within tower structure 16 is accomplished by a series or train of movable tray supports or shelves (not illustrated).
The function of the tower structure 10 of FIG. 1, taken as a whole, is to buffer the flow of trays entering the mail-handling and mail-sorting system (not illustrated) in a manner which smoothes the arrival of trays at the other mail-handling machines in the overall mail-handling and mail-sorting system. The amount of buffering available depends upon the number of trays 22 which can be stored in a vertical array within the tower structure 16. Since the loaded trays have more-or-less uniform vertical dimensions, the maximum possible amount of buffering available from a particular tower depends upon its vertical height. In a particular mail-handling and -sorting installation, there may be many such towers, which provide buffering to various portions of the system.
In any mail-handling and -sorting installation, the maximum amount of buffering available from any one tower cannot exceed the amount of buffering provided by a tower of a height which will fit between the floor and the ceiling of the site. In many installations, the building is more akin to a factory, in that the ceiling is not a smooth finished surface, but includes roof rafters or trusses, pipes, conduits, and the like. In some situations, the design of the mail-handling and -sorting installation may require less buffering at some locations in the system than at other locations, so the heights of the various towers may differ from one another. It will be appreciated that mail-handling and -sorting equipment is highly automated, and that overall operation of the mail-handling and -sorting system is controlled by computer systems, which coordinate the operations of the various devices. These computer systems communicate among each other (if appropriate) and with the various mail-handling and -sorting machines by way of a local area network (LAN).
When mail-handling and -sorting equipment is ordered from the manufacturer, the mail-handling and -sorting system has already been designed, the locations of the various equipments are known, and the requisite height of the tower is also known. Thus, the height of the tower is specified to the manufacturer, and the tower, when it arrives at the site, and moved to the predetermined location, is then ready for installation. As delivered, the mail-handling equipment is provided with one or more junction boxes to which alternating-current (AC) power must be coupled from the site's main power source, and the equipment is also provided with one or more connectors to which connections can be made to a control system, which as mentioned may be a local area network (LAN).
After the tower is placed at the proper location and uncrated, if necessary, the installation proceeds. In addition to making the mechanical connections of the various conveyors to the tower being installed, the tower must be electrically powered. In order to provide electrical power, an electrician runs conduit between the nearest appropriate source of AC power and the tower. In this context, the term "appropriate" may mean a source of power which is independently controlled by a circuit breaker or switch. Thus, the conduit run may be of substantial length, in order to reach from the tower installation site to a switch or breaker box. FIG. 2 is a simplified illustration of a tower support structure 16 located at its installation site. As illustrated, the upper end 16u of the tower structure 16 is below the lower edges of roof trusses or beams, some of which are illustrated as 30. Since the floor 12 of the installation must be kept clear for personnel, the conduit 32 is ordinarily routed along the ceiling of the building, and in those installations in which beams or trusses are exposed, conventional conduit hangers, one of which is illustrated as 34, can be used to support the conduit in proper position. The conduit makes a bend 38 adjacent the upper end 16u of the tower structure 16, is connected to the tower structure 16 at various locations along its length, as illustrated by support 40, and terminates at a connection or junction box 42 provided by the manufacturer of the tower.
The tower manufacturer provides, as part of the tower structure, all the internal electrical connections between the junction box 42 and the internal machinery of the tower. The control or LAN wiring may be handled in a different manner, but the connections must nevertheless be provided and made in a reliable manner.
After the conduit 32 of FIG. 2 is run, insulated wires are pulled through the conduit and into the junction boxes at each end of the conduit (only the box 42 at the tower end of the conduit is illustrated), and connections are made between the stripped ends of each of the wires running through the conduit and the lugs or other connectors provided in the junction box 42 on the tower and the junction box (not illustrated) at the power source. The electrical power source is ordinarily three-phase, so at least three wires, and often more, are run through the conduit. The insulated wires are illustrated as 36 in FIG. 2.
After the tower 11 is placed at the proper location, the control wiring must be connected. This may be done prior to, after, or concurrently with the installation of the electrical power connections. As mentioned, the control wiring may be handled in a manner different than that for the power wiring. The installation of both the electrical power wiring and the control wiring is then checked to verify correct installation, and the machine may then be energized.
Improved installation methods are desired.